Campaign Basics
Wild orangutans are in BIG trouble.
Help me save them through a unique scholarship program in Sumatra and Borneo- the only two places where wild orangutans are found in the world.
My Story: I have been interested and concerned about orangutans for nearly 40 years. In the 1970s I conducted pioneering research on the intelligence and language abilities of captive and excaptive orangutans in California and in Borneo. In the 1980s I co-founded a nonprofit that helped rehabilitate excaptive orangutans in Borneo. Now I want to stop the killing of wild orangutans and insure their survival for future generations. EDUCATION (not rehabilitation) is the key.
The Program: The Orang Utan Republik Foundation (OURF), a 501c3 nonprofit organization I co-founded in 2007, has been collaborating with the Orangutan Information Center in Sumatra and the Palung Foundation in Borneo to fund an important scholarship program in the name of the great red ape: the Orangutan Caring Scholarship. Students that receive the scholarship go to school, conduct research on orangutans, and volunteer for the Indonesian partner organizations. When the students graduate, they become advocates and supporters for orangutan survival. Some become field biologists, veterinarians, forestry officers, teachers, and professionals in the private and public sector.
The orangutan is critically endangered on Sumatra and endangered on Borneo as its habitat, the tropical rainforest, is converted for human use.
How it works: OURF finds the funds and the Indonesian organizations administers the program. They promote the competitive program, evaluate the applicants and research proposal, and make the selections following each applicant's presentation to the panel of judges. Each scholarship costs about $1500 and provides tuition funding over a 4-year period, the normal time it takes for an undergraduate student to obtain a degree in the fields of biology and forestry. Veterinarian students take an extra year.
Since beginning the program in 2006, OURF has funded 47 scholarships. Many of students have already graduated and are working in government and nongovernment sectors. Some have gone on to graduate school. We want to keep the funds coming so we can graduate more and more appreciative and knowledgeable citizens in the country there most orangutans are found.
Scholarship funds have usually come from orangutan and other nonprofit organizations but with collaboration from people like you, we can prepare for the 2013 Scholarship program and we can keep the program sustained.
How you can help: I want to see if our campaign can raise enough funds to support six scholarships in 2013: $9,000. By keeping funding participation affordable, we can raise those funds.... possibly even more.
What We Need & What You Will Get
We need to raise $9,000 to fund 6 scholarships in 2013. Frankly we want to fund more scholarships and will be seeking additional funds for our scholarship fund through other venues. But to get the $9,000, we have developed a menu of seven levels of participation:
$10, $20, $50, $100, $500, $1,500, & $5,000
With those choices, anyone can participate and contribute to this important program. In most cases, these contributions are fully tax-deductible.
Here is what you or some you choose will get for your participation:
- you will be thanked on our website for $10
- a certificate of support plus a thank you for $20
- a photo of the last class of recipients plus the above for $50
- special annual membership plus all of the above for $100
- an orangutan sculpture plus all the above for $500
- Special recognition at our next fundraiser for $1,500
- Special VIP recognition at our next fundraiser for $5,000
We made it so that it will take a mix of caring people to help us reach our goal. Will you be among those caring people? We plan to deliver the certificates and photos by email as pdfs but we can also specially send them (at an additional cost) to people as a gift. Our goal is to raise as much as we can for the scholarships- not overhead for this program. If we do not reach our $9,000 goal, we will apply whatever funds we receive towards the Orangutan Caring Scholarship fund.
The Impact: Orangutans and People Benefit
The Orangutan Caring Scholarship has grown over the last 7 years. It is bringing educational opportunities to students who wouldn't otherwise be able to go to college. It is branding the name: orangutan with something beneficial to local people. Here are some of the other benefits of the Orangutan Caring Scholarship program:
- Young women are receiving higher education opportunities and choosing academics over large families.
- The local press covering the award ceremonies also educate the public about orangutans and their plight.
- Good will is generated in predominately Muslim communities during a time where more Western good will is needed.
- Orangutans are gaining knowledgeable Indonesian advocates that will speak out on their behalf.
Here is what some of the past recipients have said about receiving the Orangutan Caring Scholarship (OCS):
"the OCS has allowed me to actively get involved in field works conducted by the OIC to save the orangutans and ther habitat. After I graduated from my study, I first worked as a forestry consultant for a company in Aceh but now I am working as a financial analyist for a national bank in Medan where I can teach my conservation knowledge to many companies who are dealing with my services." -Syarifah Lia Andriati, the first recipient of the Orangutan Caring Scholarship.
"It took me about more than six months to complete my research, but I am now relieved and feel satisfied as I have finished my research and my study with distinction. I am now looking for a career opportunity, and I really hope that I can get a job that will allow me to help conserve orangutans and their rainforest home." -Fifi Wilyanti, 2008 recipient
"I was awarded the OCS in 2008 and I was very pleased to know that the OCS allowed me to become a volunteer in OIC, a local conservation NGO dedicated to conservation of Sumatran orangutan. By the time I was awarded the OCS, I knew that I would learn more about the orangutans and how I could help protect this important species. I graduated in 2010. I hope my research can be widely published so many people will learn more about orangutans. I am now awaiting job interview for the position of a biologist for a conservation NGO based in Medan." -Nurzaidah Putri Dalimunthe, 2008 recipient.
Other Ways You Can Help
Even if you find it difficult to participate but see the benefit of this program for the long term survival of the orangutan, you can help in other ways besides contributing money:
- Get the word out with your family and friends
- Tweet the campaign, put it on your Facebook page.
- See if your school, church or service organization wants to participate.
THANKS for taking the time to read this far... now, show me you care and take the next step!!